Not Your Average Renegade On The Run
by Johesaphana the Magnificellent
Summary: The crew knows more about a new rebel-on-the-run than they think. How does this mysterious newcomer have ties to the crew? Read to find out! NOT BETAED! T for now, may become M later.
1. Rain

So, this is my third attempt at writing fiction and my second attempt at a multi-chaptered fic, so I hope y'all aren't too disappointed... Un-beta-ed

Adhira is Hindu for lightning...

It was raining. It had been raining all week, but today, of all days, was the worst. Hidden beneath her cloak and always looking over her shoulder, Adhira was waiting. She had been on the run from the Alliance for months now, and this was her last chance at freedom from the oppression and secrecy that has taken over her life.

Then, she saw it. The ticket to her freedom. The _Serenity_. The name sent shivers down her spine. It certainly has been a while, and she had changed so much since the war. She was older, she changed her hair color and dropped her last name, but she would never grow out of the memories. The destruction. The screaming. The horror. The _torture. _They haunt her dreams and echo in her mind

She's not the only one, though. In fact, she's one of three that made it out of the war alive. But no one would realize it. There was no way anyone would recognize her. Her own sister didn't even recognize her. Plus, everyone thought she was dead, which played into her charade of being a nobody quite nicely. To the serenity crew, she's a ghost, a shimmer of a long forgotten memory. And she was perfectly content with that.

Or so she thought.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds loved his life. No matter what hardship he had encountered, he had never regretted a moment in his life.

That is, until that fateful day. Being a volunteer in the 57th Infantry, the Browncoats gave meaning to his life. Then, one day that warring forces of the Alliance and the Independents met at the final battleground of Serenity Valley. By the end, the only survivors of the 57th were Mal and fellow crew member Zoe Washburne. The war was devastating enough, but that battle most of all was the worst.

Mal and Zoe saw all but one of their comrades die, and the one who wasn't killed on the battlefield was taken prisoner by the Alliance. She's been missing for 16 years now, and is presumed dead. The only person more affected by this loss than Mal is the victim's sister, Inara.

Inara Serra wouldn't talk about her sister anymore. She used to tell about the raiding party that stormed her house when she as six and her sister five, and how her sister fought the intruders off and saved her family. She would talk about how this one event fueled her desire to join the Browncoats when the war began.

Such stories are now extinct. No one talks about the war anymore, and these memories caused Inara to leave the _Serenity_ for good. The memories of her long gone sister were too much for her to handle.

In the five years since she left 'her ship', Inara only made contact with the Serenity crew once, three days ago, to plead with the Captain to grant safe passage for a homeless girl who showed up at the training house where she lived and has been on the run from the alliance for months.


	2. Blast Off

Hey, guys. Sorry I haven't updated this in a while, but I didn't have internet (*insert emo tear here*) but I'm good for now. I still don't have a Beta for this, so I'm sorry for any mistakes I've overlooked, although I do admit that my biggest weakness is writing in the same tense throughout the piece so sorry for any confusion that it causes. And _italics_ signify thoughts.

P.s. I wrote this before I was all about Jayne, and looking back I wish I could change this story around so that Adhira and Jayne end up together, but the story would have to be completely re-written to make that happen.

* * *

As the _Serenity _completed it's docking sequence, I couldn't help but feel like this is the beginning of a big adventure, maybe even the rest of my life. I just hope no one recognizes me or realizes who I am. As far as they know, Adhira Serra is dead. And maybe they were s=right, In a different time and place, I would have been proud of my namesake, but after the nightmare supposedly ended, I wanted to sever all ties with anyone who ever knew me. Well, I got my wish, I suppose.

As the loading dock opens, a young girl comes out and walks up to me. As she circles, I can feel her invading my mind. A psychic, just great. A male voice calls her inside, and a face I thought I'd never see again appears. Mal. My heart drops into my knees. I really should've guessed. Only Malcolm Reynolds would name a ship after such a horrible and defining place. Just keep your cool, I reprimand myself, because to him, you're dead. Thankfully there was no sign of recognition on his face as I walked up to greet him. I was just another renegade on the run.

"Captain Reynolds?" I shout over the pounding rain.

"Yes." he replies simply. Oh yes, it's definitely Mal.

"I'm Adhira. Inara Serra contacted you for me."

"Aah, yes. River, Simon, can you load the supplies aboard while I show our new passenger around?" Mal shouted.

"Sure, Captain." said a man I assumed to be Simon.

"Well then, let's take a tour. Inara said that you're a pilot and a bit of a computer wiz?"

"That's right," I reply, "I was schooled by Mr. Universe himself. I helped him build Lenore."

"That's pretty amazing." he replies with awe.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm more of a weapons expert than a computer wiz though. Technology is great, when it works, but when shit hits the fan, I'd choose a pistol over a hard drive any day."

"Good answer. That'll help you when we're on a job."

"Aah yes. Inara told me about some of your more... _interesting_.. endeavors."

Mal just gives a soft chuckle in response. As the pair tours through the ship, Mal tells Adhira about the absent crew member Jayne, who found love with a bar maiden two years prior.

"To think that the fates could bring two strangers together, in such a crazy time, and they can somehow create a new and better life for themselves. It's an amazingly impossible concept." I say.

"Indeed it is. And to find love with Jayne of all people..." Says Mal.

"What do you mean?"

"Jayne is the most self-centered person I've ever met. I guess it kinda makes sense that he married someone who listens to people's problems all day."

"I guess so." I say.

"Captain, we've got a green light and we're all set for takeoff." says a woman.

"Ok, thanks Zoe. Oh, and this is Adhira, the one Inara was talking about."

"Hi there. Welcome aboard." Zoe says.

"Hi, and thanks." I reply with a smile.

"Zoe, will you show Adhira to the bridge, and I'll be there in a minute?" Mal asks.

"No problem, follow me."

As Zoe and I make our way towards the bridge, we make conversation about how much flight experience I've had and how I'll replace her late husband, who was killed by Reavers, as _Serenity_'s pilot.

"Well, here she is." Says Zoe. "You'll sit at the right console while the Captain gets the left one."

"Are we ready to take off?" asks Mal behind us.

"Yes, sir." Zoe replies before leaving.

As I sit in my seat, I take in my surroundings with mild amusement.

"What's with the dino figures?" I ask, gesturing to the top of my console.

"It's kind of a memorial to Wash, Zoe's hubby." Mal answers.

"I see."

"Ready to take off?"

"yes, sir."

As we take off, I sigh heavily in annoyance due to the fact that the rainstorm I had been standing in, while waiting for the_ Serenit_y, has just stopped. Maybe it's a sign, or maybe the fates really like messing with me today.

"So, where are we headed, captain?" I ask once we leave atmo.

"We're going to meet up with some friends, Fanty and Mingo, to see if they have any jobs for us."

"Sounds good." I say.

After I set auto pilot, Mal shows me my new living quarters and helps me move my computers and weapons in. He explains that the cabin to the left of mine belongs to Jayne, the one across from me belongs to himself, and the one next tho his belongs to Zoe. The mechanic sleeps in the engine room and the brother and sister live in guest quarters.

"Good lord you have a lot of equipment," Mal says gesturing to my sixth crate full of guns. "What about all of your personal effects?"

In response, I set down an old military-style duffel bag on my bed.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone who has more weapons than personal effects, and that's saying a lot when you consider Jayne." Mal says, astonished.

"Well, I guess I'm not most people." I reply simply.

Mal just smiles. But this smile wasn't just a smile, it was a dazzler. This smile made my knees go weak and my legs turn to jelly and my heart beat like an e-drum at a rave. What the hell. I don't think anything like this has ever happened to me.

_Oh who are you kidding, he's always done this to you._

Seeing my reaction, he smiles wider and gives a light chuckle.

"Take your time down here, I'll call you if we need anything before we begin approach. And I'd like you to land, Ok?" Mal says smugly.

"Yeah, sure thing, whatever you say." I say in a cracked and hurried voice.

When he finally left my room, I collapsed on my bed and said to myself 'what have I gotten myself into?'


End file.
